


they say history likes to repeat

by Seito



Category: Bleach, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Don't copy to another site, Families of Choice, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Reincarnation, have fun guessing who is who, i'll give you the first one, kisuke is kakashi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-30
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2020-09-30 09:30:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 13,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20444927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seito/pseuds/Seito
Summary: 1 in 1,738,000,000.That was the odds of a soul remembering their past life.It is also a horrible, horrible, horrible lie.Kisuke would know.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [shout out to fringeperson who started this whole madness.](https://thefringeperson.tumblr.com/post/187346681823/rayningnight-seitosokusha-thefringeperson)

1 in 1,738,000,000.

That was the odds of a soul remembering their past life.

It is also a horrible, horrible, horrible lie.

Kisuke would know.

Life, Death, Rebirth. The ever present cycle of the universe, an absolute truth, an undeniable fact. It continued, ruthlessly, efficiently, unwavering. To fight against it, was like fighting against the ocean. Perhaps you could, for a moment, for a brief period of time, but eventually no matter how strong, no matter how powerful, one fell to waves.

There were truths to this cycle. Truths people conveniently forgot.

_(What was the point of fearing dying if it was just a cycle? Eventually it would come full circle.)_

Life on Earth, Life in Soul Society, Death the passage between, the means of traveling. Reincarnation the every moving cycle. And its only price? Your memory.

Kisuke supposed that was what made people fear Death.

You forgot who you were when you died, resetting back to a blank slate, to live and rediscover the joys of living again and again. Make a family, make enemies, make friends, make allies. Becomes the greatest hero in all of history or its greatest villain. At the end, no matter the impacts you made, you would forget.

(And how many melodramatic villains had Kisuke met who never wanted to be a memory? Never to be legacy?)

(Idiots. Memories lived on. The world, Earth or Soul Society, never forgot. Memories of people didn’t either, not without a great passages of time.)

(Who wanted to be remembered forever?)

For a single person? To forget was the single, greatest gift Kami-sama could have bestowed on them.

You may forget your happy memories, but you also forgot your bad ones. You may forget your greatest victories, but you also forgot your greatest regrets.

(Kisuke had so many regrets.)

When the time came, Kisuke was looking forward to forgetting the debts and regrets and burdens he carried.

He also knew he was going to be denied that greatest gift.

Because Urahara Kisuke remembered his past life.

Not perfectly (flashes of silver, flashes of red, a singing in his veins when he joined the Onmitsukidō, Benihime’s violence more comforting than peace), but it was enough.

Enough to know that even now, Kisuke was still adding regrets, still adding debts, and somehow, miserably, surviving.

1 in 1,738,000,000.

The odds of a soul remembering their past life.

A filthy, filthy lie.

Maybe 1 in 1,738,000,000 souls was aware enough to know the deja vu that would hit them was an echo of a memory deep in their soul. Maybe 1 in 1,738,000,000 souls would admit that they remember their previous life.

Life, Death, Rebirth. It was such a curse to remember, to see ghosts.

(Sometimes Yoruichi made him pale. Sometimes the insult of cat’s claws faltered on his tongue and the teasing snake’s fangs tried to spill out. Sometimes he cursed the sense of familiarity, unable to figure out if he stuck with Yoruichi because genuine friendship or because she reminded him of someone else.)

(Sometimes when eyes weren’t looking at him, Byakuya would quiet in a way that used to chill Kisuke to his bones. If the latest rumors were true, Byakuya had killed his emotions a few years back, dedicating his life to absolute laws of Soul Society and Kisuke didn’t know where to laugh, where to cry and wondered which ghost was he seeing, the person that Byakuya was previously, or Kisuke’s mirror image.)

(And if Byakuya claimed to not remember his past life, Kisuke would call him a liar.)

(For that matter, he was dead certain that behind Aizen’s perfect mask was another person who remembered their previous life perfectly. For the greater good, arm covered in Sharingans, an old war dog, poisoning roots.)

And then Kurosaki Ichigo stormed into Kisuke’s life and Kisuke felt his breath stolen away, seeing blond hair instead of orange, blue eyes instead of brown and almost felt himself weep.

Ichigo, loud and brilliant, so powerful, so much potential, narrowed his eyes one afternoon, pausing his training. “Getaboshi?” he asked, no demanded.

Kisuke lightly laughed. It was a plan held by shoestring and gum, reckless and stupid but Kisuke had engaged rescue plans on worse odds before (brown hair, and purple facemarks, succeeding and failing and sometimes he could forgive the haunting smile, the blood on his hand and failure of a broken promise). Ichigo simply squared his shoulders and demanded his help, help that Kisuke gave freely.

Who was Hatake Kakashi to deny his Hokage?


	2. Chapter 2

Kurosaki Ichigo was an oddity. He knew that, embraced it, accepted it. Let people stare. Ichigo would simply burn brighter than ever, carving out his own path in life. 

(Somewhere deep in his subconscious, he acknowledged that strange looks were better than looks of hatred. Part of him wondered how he knew that.) 

His life was built on secrets. Secrets he kept from others (seeing ghosts, the truth of his circumstances, how his mother really died), the secrets others kept from him (the old goat was not the best father in the world, but good intentions paved the path to hell and until he came clean Ichigo kept him at arm's length. If the secret dealt with him, it was his right to know.) 

(It was always his right to know.)

(_Jii._) 

And no matter how reckless he appeared to be, Ichigo was by no means stupid. 

He knew Uruhara should be given only a fraction of trust, knew the man was more dangerous than he appeared to. 

(Lazy smiling sensei.) 

Ichigo knew what he was signing up for, the danger. But he would never abandon his friends, never go back on his word. 

And if he stared into the abyss and the abyss stared back, it truly honestly, wasn't that surprising. 

"Hey, what do I call you?"

His Hollow snarled making a swipe at Ichigo who easily dodged. Inner darkness, deepest desires, bloodthirsty madness, who cared? Everyone carried around some darkness in themselves. Ichigo knew this, accepted this, mastered this. 

“What do you care?” his Hollow howled. 

Because Ichigo needed to focus on saving Rukia, needed to work on control, needed to make sure his friends didn’t die or get captured. Because his Hollow was throwing a temper tantrum and Ichigo knew better. 

“How about Naruto?” Ichigo asked. 

“You want to name me after a ramen topping!” his Hollow shrieked. 

Ichigo frowned. “That’s not-” Well, it was, but that wasn’t what the name meant to Ichigo. The same way Ichigo didn’t mean strawberry. 

“Then tell me what you want to be called?” Ichigo said, rolling his eyes as he dodged another swipe. 

“If you can’t hear it, I ain’t telling you!” 

Hear it?

Oh. 

There was another name, different than Naruto that rang in Ichigo’s head. He froze, unwavering staring at his Hollow. 

“Kurama.” 

His Hollow pulled back, yellow (demonic, tinting red and tugging sense of familiarity) eyes narrowing. 

Ichigo grinned. “Kurama,” he repeated. 

“Tch!” Kurama clicked his tongue. “Took you long enough.” 

Ichigo laughed, raising a fist. “Shall we?” 

Kurama bumped his fist against Ichigo’s fist. “Crush them all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sigh* falling down this rabbit hole way too fast. Don't ask me what the plot is (and don't be surprised if this wildly starts going out of order.) 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out


	3. Chapter 3

Kurama, Ichigo found out, like to complain about everything, especially about his hair color. 

(Which rude! Ichigo took after his wonderful mother.) 

(Huh. Why was it important that Ichigo take after his mother in hair color?)

"It's orange," Kurama bitched, looking utterly resigned. "Of course, it's orange. What else did I expect?" 

"What is wrong with my hair color?" Ichigo snapped back, crossing his arms. 

"It's orange," Kurama said flatly. He sighed. "It's at least better than blond." 

"Orange is a great color," Ichigo said, a tad defensively. "There isn't anything wrong with blond either." He couldn't picture himself as a blond though. 

Kurama gave him a flat unimpressed look. "Red would have been acceptable. You wanted to be a redhead." 

"When was that?!" 

"Why did it had to be orange?" 

-.-.-.-

"It's orange." 

"What?" Ichigo asked, his concentration snapping as Urahara interrupted his training. 

"Your hair color," Urahara said. Ichigo got the distinct impression that the man was _laughing_. 

Ichigo scowled. He went through his entire life being teased for his hair color. It was his natural hair color damnit! And it was his mother's natural hair color. He was damn proud to have orange hair. 

"What the hell is wrong with that?!?" Ichigo snarled.

Urahara held up a hand in pacifying gesture. "Maa~ Nothing at all. It suits you." 

Ichigo's eyes widened a fraction. No one had ever said that before. 

A sly grin spread across Urahara's face, like he knew an inside joke that Ichigo wasn't private to. "You also would make a good blond." 

Ichigo lunged. Why did people keep making that remark?!

-.-.-

"So let me get this straight. You want me to take this crazy orange haired kid and his friends, break into Soul Society to rescue a _Kuchiki_, and screw with Aizen and all of Soul Society at the same time." 

Kisuke snapped open his fan to hide his growing smirk. "Something like that, yes."

Yoruichi howled in laughter. "Alright, fine I'll bite. A little chaos to keep them on their toes is probably needed." Her eyes narrowed, mirth fading. 

"It isn't like you to be so reckless," she commented lightly. "No matter how talented this kid is, you're going to send him up against shinigami with centuries more of experience. You're sending him to his death." 

Kisuke mentally flinched, feeling the stirring of guilt swirl in his stomach. He took a small fortifying breath. "Kurosaki-kun can handle it," he said, confidently. 

“Oh?” Yoruichi said, challenging. 

Kisuke gestured his head towards training ground where Ichigo practicing against the automated training dummies. “Spend the rest of the day teaching him Shunpo, see how far he gets,” he said. “By the time the Senkaimon is ready, he’ll be able to at least keep up with your slowest speed.” 

Yoruichi grinned, fire dancing in her eyes. “Is that so? If the brat surprises me, I’ll even teach his friends and make sure they all come back home in one piece.” She disappeared in a flash, aiming to ambush Ichigo, unaware. 

Kisuke smiled as Ichigo reacted in a split second blocking Yoruichi’s attack, a feat that should have been all but impossible for someone as untrained as Ichigo, no matter how slowly or gently Yoruichi had gone. 

“Maa,” Kisuke said, unable to stop the joy and faith bubbling in his heart. “Still Konoha’s Number One Unpredictable Ninja, Kurosaki-kun.” 

If it was Kurosaki-kun, Kisuke had all the faith in the world that it could be done. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When will this rabbit hole end? *cries*
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	4. Chapter 4

There are times in Uryuu’s life that he questioned what did he do to deserve this fate.

(Fool. Repent.)

In other words, getting involved with Kurosaki Ichigo was shaping up to be the biggest mistake in his life. 

(Even if it did get him one step closer to his revenge.) 

Was Uryuu going with Kurosaki to Soul Society? Yes, yes he was. But it was for revenge. Strictly that. He certainly didn’t care if Kurosaki succeeded or not in rescuing the shinigami girl. He was going to get revenge on the shinigami. He most certainly, absolutely, not there to stop Kurosaki from accidentally killing himself. 

(He lost everything and the desire for revenge sang like a siren. He was an Avenger.) 

“Well boy? Will you be joining for training as well?” Yoruichi gave him unimpressed look. A _talking cat_. Where did Kurosaki even find these strange creatures? Uryuu had at no point asked to be interrupted from his training by Sado and Inoue, much less have a smug talking cat berate him for how poor his techniques were. 

Before Uryuu could answer, a spike of killer intent filled the air. 

“Ah, Tatsuki!” Orihime said, beaming brightly and completely unaware of the rage pouring off of her best friend.

Tatsuki gave a fridge smile at them. “I couldn’t help but to hear something interesting. What exactly is Ichigo doing?” 

Honestly, what the hell did Uryuu did to deserve this?

(_Karma._) 

(Or maybe it was just fate.)

-.-.-

Kisuke was having deja vu over the scene before him. 

“Tatsuki,” Ichigo sputtered, nervously, looking more like the teenager he should be and not the serious focus warrior. 

Tatsuki cracked her knuckles ominously, dangerous aura rolling off her. “Ishida has been telling me some interesting stories. Like how you can see ghosts. Or the fact that you intent to storm into the afterlife to rescue a classmate I can’t remember, by yourself!”

“Ishida!” Ichigo shouted, looking betrayed. 

Ishida crossed his arms and looked away.

Ichigo held up his hands defensively. “It isn’t by myself!”

“Oh so Ishida and Chad get to go with you, even Orihime and I don’t get an invite?” Tatsuki asked, temperature in the room dropping even further. 

“Wait, no, they’re not supposed--” Ichigo nervously shuffled backwards as Tatsuki stalked forward.

She wounded up, pulling back her arm-- “Shannarō!!!” 

\--And shattered the training ground with a single punch. 

“What the hell, Kisuke?” Yoruichi hissed at him. Surprise was rolling off her cat body in waves. It wasn’t every day Kisuke saw his normally unflappable friend stunned. “What do they feed these kids in this town? Are you sure they’re baseline humans?”

Kisuke, on the other hand, was too busy laughing to answer her properly. 

Because, _of course_. 

He wasn’t even surprised by this turn of events either. What he did know was that everything was going to turn out perfectly fine. 

After all, Kisuke witnessed Team Seven taking down a rabbit moon goddess. It was far more likely that Soul Society _wouldn’t_ be standing after this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cackles* 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out


	5. Chapter 5

Orihime was not the most… grounded person in the world. She knew that. It was partly out of defense. 

_“Poor child.” _

_“The abuse-”_

_“You know you can tell your big brother anything, right?” _

_“Dissociation. She’s not--” _

Reality was not kind. Orihime knew she saw the world slightly out of focus, tilted 10 degrees to the left and colored a shade brighter than physically possible. She let her imagination fill in the gaps in the things that were just a little too dark, hit a little close to home. 

Her brother, when he was still alive, always looked at her with love and concern. Strangers gave her pity. Her classmates called her an airhead, delusional and scattered-brain. 

(It was just so much easier to pretend to be the fool. No one looked closer when you were acting like an idiot.) 

(She couldn’t let go of this mask.)

(She couldn’t accept this reality.) 

It was why Orihime cherished her friends, her true friends. Tatsuki was always ready to defend her. Kurosaki always seemed to humor her or, well, now that she knew he could see ghosts, fought Hollows on a daily basis, perhaps it was less humoring and more understanding. He saw the world differently compared to other people as well. Chad remained steadfast and Ishida for all his prickly ways gave his own support. Rukia, Orihime remembered vividly, brightly, and she never mocked Orihime for her strangeness either. 

Orihime loved them. She was so grateful to have them in her life. Her brother was gone, her birth parents were rejections, her friends were all she had and for them she would follow them anywhere. Even to the gates of Soul Society, into life and death battles to support them, help them. 

But admittedly her new powers scared her. 

Oh she pretended not to fully understand what they were. Yoruichi seemed pretty baffled by them. 

But… rejection of reality. 

(Once upon a time there was a girl…)

(Once upon a time there was a boy…)

(She never told anyone that sometimes she would wake up screaming. Only Sora knew about her night terrors that never faded even as she grew older.) 

“You’re going to be late, Orihime-chan.”

Orihime snapped out of her thoughts to find Urahara looking at her with a touch of concern. She let out a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head. “Ahaha, sorry. I got lost on the road of life.” 

(Why did she say that?)

(The words slipped out like trying to catch raindrops.)

“Is that so?” Urahara said. “Well you better hurry. Yoruichi makes people who show up late run laps until they can’t feel their legs.” 

Orihime nodded. Right! There was no time to sit around moping about her strange new powers. She had to focus. Rukia was counting on them to rescue her. 

Silly Orihime. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gender is a social construct. 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out


	6. Chapter 6

The sight of Ichigo yelling as he dodged Tatsuki’s punches and Ishida standing in the background, sighing, filled Chad with nostalgia. He honestly thought he would never get the chance to witness this again.

But it seemed that Team 7 would continue to do the impossible, even in this lifetime.

Chad had always known _who_ laid behind Ichigo’s scowl and Tatsuki’s fists. Frankly, he couldn’t believe how lucky he had gotten. Ishida was newer. They had never interacted until everything regarding Rukia, Shinigami and Hollows came exploding out. And now the picture he had thought was incomplete was finding all the missing pieces.

(Then there was Urahara and Chad was sure it was a certain silver haired sensei behind the strange shopkeeper.)

“Everything alright, Chad?” Orihime asked, looking at him with concern.

Chad gave her soft nod. There was something familiar about Orihime as well, but it was more distant, further away.

(He didn’t remember much.)

(Just the scorching heat. A rumbling roar. Siblings. Wind. Love.)

(But it was impossible to forget Uzumaki Naruto.)

(And the glimpses he caught in his nightmares made him glad that he didn’t remember more.)

“They’re so funny,” Orihime said cheerily, observing their friends.

He wondered if Orihime remembered something too.

“Ah,” Chad said in agreement. “Ishida will fit right in.”

Orihime smiled. “He is. We should start calling him Uryuu-kun soon!”

“Stupid Ichigo!!”

Tatsuki’s punch finally struck true and Ichigo went flying. Chad easily caught him.

“Damnit Tatsuki!” Ichigo howled. “Stop punching me!”

“You deserve it!”

Ichigo threw his hands up in the air as Chad set him down. “Thanks Chad,” he said.

“Any time,” Chad said.

“You shouldn’t upset Tatsuki-chan so much,” Orihime teased.

“She started it!” Ichigo started.

That was when Yoruichi dropped out of nowhere, sending them scattering. “If you have time to bicker you have time to training!” she shouted.

Honestly, this not-actually-a-cat-but-really-a-woman was crazy. Given who Chad used to be, he considered himself to be an expert on the subject. Apparently, she took offense to the crazy growth of Ichigo, Tatsuki, and Ishida and decided to crank their training to impossible levels of hell. To make matters worse, Urahara and Tessai both agreed.

It was a little scary to watch. Chad knew for a fact that Tatsuki and Ichigo didn’t remember their previous lives. (Though with Ichigo, Chad was never really sure.) He didn’t know Ishida well enough yet. But it didn’t change the fact that the three of them fought in tandem like a well oiled machine.

Perhaps if they didn’t remember it consciously, subconsciously, the teamwork that Team 7 would go onto become infamous for was still bleeding through.

(He was a tiny bit jealous.)

Chad immediately pulled Ichigo back, his own ability flicking to life in a split second to defend against Yoruichi’s lightning fast punch.

Ichigo gave him a split second grin. “Your defense is always the best,” he said.

“I got your back,” Chad said, confidently.

(But he would not be left behind.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some extra background notes.
> 
> There are degrees of separation regarding how much and what a soul remembers.
> 
> Stage 1 are those who remember most if not all memories, like Kisuke. It’s ingrained and they’re just as likely to response to their old name as they are to their current one. Their motivations and line of reasoning and logic often remain the same and only cause of differences would be cases of nurture.
> 
> Stage 2 are those who remember bits and pieces. May or may not be aware that they are a reincarnation. There is often a line of separation between old and new. Just because their previous personality would have done this or that doesn’t mean the current version of them would. Sometimes things slip and often they find themselves asking why did they do this or say that.
> 
> Stage 3 are those who don’t remember at all, but the “echoes” remain strong. Events/Memories/People/etc they all have impacts on a person and a big enough impact is enough to leave an imprint on the soul that doesn’t fade. Déjà vu is common, especially when similar events/people/memories are around to trigger the echo.
> 
> Stage 4 are those who don’t remember and the echoes are weak. This is where majority of souls end up as. Unless one lives in complete and total isolation or delays their reincarnation by millenniums, it’s impossible to not pick up something that impacts you and leaves an imprint on your soul. Any echoes that manifest are either minor, very subtle, or very specific set of circumstances to trigger them.
> 
> They’re not clear cut division lines. Ichigo, for example, ping pongs between Stage 2 and 3. He has a lot of echoes and it’s hard to say if he’s remembering or if the echo is just too strong to know. The tying of Kurama to his soul complicate the matter because Kurama definitely is a Stage 1. Chad is a Stage 2. Orihime is a Stage 3 when she's awake, a Stage 2 when she's asleep. Tatsuki and Uryuu are both Stage 4. 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out :D


	7. Chapter 7

Some things never changed. 

It didn't matter that Kisuke was no longer Kakashi. It didn't matter that this was no longer Team 7 and these weren't his students (but they came back anyway). It didn't matter how much they changed or grew, Kisuke was never going to give up on them. 

Sometimes though, Kisuke wished he could throw them off a cliff. 

Tatsuki and Ichigo weren't the problem. They both took to Kisuke's teaching like ducks to water. Ichigo was halfway there to wielding his Zanpakutō, fighting like a seasoned seated officer and growing like a weed with every passing hour. By the time Kisuke was done with him, Ichigo would be able to take down Captains. 

Tatsuki, as expected, had so much control, it was off the charts. She soaked up so much kido knowledge that Tessai, stoic and quiet, was singing her praises. Kisuke knew in another world he would have sent her straight to Unohana and watch Tatsuki soak up the knowledge until she surpassed Unohana. (Or not, Kisuke hadn't quite puzzled out who was behind Unohana's smiling face yet, but it was enough to ensure that Kisuke would _never_ go to the fourth division of his own free will. Tessai was a skilled enough doctor as it was.) 

No, the problem laid with Ishida Uryuu. 

(If anyone had asked Kakashi a lifetime ago who was his most troubling student, he would have said it was Uchiha Sasuke. And that was even before his deflection to Oto. Naruto and Sakura, Kakashi knew would blossom on their own time and with only the smallest pushes and support. Sasuke on the other hand was like trying to stop a flood one sandbag at a time and every crashing wave eroded away any progress.) 

Part of it was not his fault. 

Some of it was biological, the Quincy bloodline running through his veins. (Kisuke was equally worried about whether or not Ichigo would manifest his mother's ability. It was both a blessing and a curse that he had not.) Quincy powers meant even trying to _teach_ Ishida was a difficulty. Kisuke had only passing knowledge of how Quincy powers worked, knowledge absorbed from his friendships with Misaki and Ryuuken, from the blackout reports in the Onmitsukidō and the twelfth division "studies". It wasn't enough to really help Ishida who only had his grandfather's lessons since Ryuuken flat out refused to teach his son.

If there were bad habits formed from with Ishida's self-studying, Kisuke wouldn't know, wouldn't even be able to correct. 

There was the very concept of Quincy power itself. Such a heavy power, such a dangerous ability, Kisuke wondered why the Spirit King even allowed it to manifest. (Ever since Kisuke really understood the weight of his past memories, ever since he grasped the truth of the cycles of life and death, the eradication of the Quincy race was the _only_ action that Central 46 made that Kisuke ever agreed with.) 

Getting Ishida to change his ways, to not used his birthright abilities would be like trying to convince an Uchiha not to use their Sharingan. 

Right.

Impossible. 

Superiority issues aside, Kisuke could admit that Ishida is a big improvement though. (Not have your older brother kill your entire family before your eyes did _wonders_. In fact, all of Ishida’s thoughts of revenge were mostly inherited by a warp sense of grief for his grandfather and a certain scientist that Kisuke was regretting letting out of Maggot’s Nest.) In light of well, everything, Ishida was remarkably sane and stable. 

He was even making _friends_. 

There might even be a budding _crush_ on Orihime. 

(The part of Kisuke that was pure Hatake Kakashi could hardly believe it.) 

“_**Why**_,” Ishida asked through gritted teeth, “do you want me to aim for non-vital targets?” 

“Do you understand what exactly your Quincy powers do?” Kisuke asked. 

“Of course!” 

“_Do you?_” Kisuke pressed. “Your Quincy powers _extinguish_ the soul.” 

Ishida opened his mouth to protest before snapping it shut. “How is that different than what you Shinigami do?”

He could learn! 

“Shinigami purify the soul, send it off to Soul Society,” Kisuke explained patiently. “The cycle of life and death continue to turn, the balance remains in place. Quincy powers extinguish the soul, it erases them from existence, removes the soul from the cycle of life and death.” 

Kisuke paused. It was a harsh truth (and harsh truths are the hardest to accept). But he needed Ishida to understand the full danger of his bloodright. 

“Imagine your grandfather had turned into a Hollow, imagine your arrow struck him true. Your grandfather’s soul wouldn’t go to Soul Society. He wouldn’t be there for you to meet him when you finally pass. Every reincarnation cycle after that, he will not be there because you have erased him.” 

Ishida paled. “That’s--”

“Imagine you turning your arrow on Ichigo or on Orihime,” Kisuke continued. “They will no longer exist.” 

Ishida turned as white as his uniform. 

“Aim for non-vital areas,” Kisuke repeated gently. “Immobilized your enemies. If it’s a Hollow, aim for the limbs but let Ichigo land the final purifying blow. If it’s a Shinigami, well they can take a beating. And…”

“And when it comes down to it, if you’re in danger, if it’s a choice between you and them, go for the kill.” 

Ishida stared at him, eyes widening. “You just said-”

“I know,” Kisuke said. But he would not lose his students. Not again, not in this lifetime. 

There was something vulnerable in Ishida’s eyes. 

(Sometimes Kisuke wanted to shake both Ryuuken and Isshin because Kisuke should not be the one with the most parental skills between the three of them. His students deserved better.) 

(Two of them were orphans last lifetime and this time at least one half of their parent set are still alive and yet somehow doing worse than last time.) 

(How do you fuck up and do worse than a shinobi village who raised child soldiers?) 

Kisuke gave him a quick soft smile, before letting it blossom into a full on grin that would have made Gai proud. “Now Ishida-kun~ one of my companions has returned in time to help train you. The goal here is for you to aim at non-vital parts while engaged with a stronger shinigami who will most likely be fighting in close combat.” 

Even though it had been a week since Ishida showed at the shoten, he clearly had picked up that Kisuke’s beaming face should be trusted.

“Who is that?” Ishida asked. 

A thump sounded as Kisuke’s companion arrived, landing softly in front of Ishida and Kisuke. 

“Yo. I’m here to help you train,” Shiba Kaien said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am loving how many of you screamed over the plot twist last chapter.

They say history liked to repeat. Kaien was discovering the truth of that statement. 

He died tragically young. 

(He would argue that by village standards he was old. They had been recovering the Third Shinobi War and teetering back and forth on a civil war. When he died, he felt so terribly old, no matter how young he physically was.)

And here now, he was dying again.

Almost as tragically young. He had nothing on his Captain, but this was supposed to height of his prime. 

This had been a stupid reckless plan.

But Miyako. 

Kaein wondered if the emotional instability had followed him to the afterlife. 

Or maybe it was just karma. 

(Family always came first. Family was what led him to his death the first time around, family was what would lead him to his death this time around.)

Or maybe it was because he came too close to the truth. He had been searching for years, for decades. Now as he was dying he had the mental clarity and emotional distance to realize there had been something strange about Miyako’s mission, strange about this Hollow, strange about the timing of it. 

Not that he could do anything about it. 

(Just like last time, he couldn’t do anything either. Had been too weak. Had to entrust his mission to his best friend.) 

(Damn he had so many regrets.)

“Kaien-dono,” Rukia sputtered out. Her tiny body trembling, barely supporting his full weight. 

“Thank you,” Kaien said, pouring as much gratitude into his words. It was cruel to make her kill him, but Kaien was grateful for the chance to die as himself and not as a Hollow. 

“No… Kaien-dono… no,” Rukia begged, unable to get the words out. 

“You’ll be fine,” Kaien reassured her. “Take care of Ukitake-taichou and that stubborn brother of yours.” 

He felt his consciousness slipping away, like the cold rain rolling down his body, like the blood dripping down his chest. 

Kaien closed his eyes, sighing softly. So many regrets. 

“KAIEN-DONO!”

-.-.-

Byakuya stared out of the window. The rain had yet to let up and the bad feeling that hung over his head since this morning grew worse with every passing second. Rukia had yet to return home and he was… worried. 

A soft crack. 

And a fresh wave of grief hit him squarely in the chest. 

-.-.-

He didn’t expect to wake up. 

Slowly but sure, Kaien grew more aware of the softness that surrounded him. The world shifted from fuzzy shapes to an unfamiliar ceiling. 

“For someone who remembers their past life, you certainly don’t learn.”

Kaien let out a weak chuckle, recognizing the voice. Somehow he wasn’t really surprised. “Taichou,” he said. 

Kisuke gave him a flat look. “I discarded my haori when I was exiled.” 

Kaien gave him a cheeky grin. “Still a taichou,” he countered. “Once an ANBU, always an ANBU, Wolf.” 

It didn’t matter that Kaien was older than Kisuke. It didn’t matter that Kaien was the Head of the Shiba Clan. It didn’t matter that Kaien and Kisuke weren’t the closest of friends. 

It did matter that it had been years since he had been under Kakashi’s command and still Kisuke came to help Kaien.

“You came back for me,” Kaien said. He had no idea how Kisuke had managed to pull that off, given it had been over 50 years since his exile, but Kaien didn’t care. _He came back_. Why wouldn’t Kaien want to give his respect? 

Hatake Kakashi was the ANBU captain who welcome him into his squad, who promised he would never leave a man behind, who_ kept his promise_. This was just another life debt that Kaien owed him. 

(Damn, this made the sixteenth time Kakashi had to save his butt.)

(Sometimes he wondered how things would have gone differently if he had just waited for Kakashi to return from his mission. Maybe he wouldn’t have died so tragically young.) 

Kisuke hummed. “Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash,” he said. “Rest _Shisui_. We’ll figure out what to do next when you have recovered.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	9. Chapter 9

"Kaien?!!" Ichigo shouted. “Where have you been?”

“Hi Kaien-san,” Tatsuki greeted. 

Uryuu sighed. "You know the strangest people." 

"Hello!" Orihime chirped. 

"Welcome back," Chad said. 

"_Shiba Kaien! **Kisuke!**_" Yoruichi yelped. 

Kaien looked at Kisuke, amused. "You didn't tell her about me?" 

Kisuke kept his face neutral. It certainly wasn't his fault that Yoruichi always happened to be in town when Kaien was out of town. In fact if she had bothered to show up at any point in the last fifteen years, she would have known. Kaien had practically glued himself to the Kurosaki siblings and had only left this last time because Kisuke couldn't get in touch with Yoruichi.

Perhaps he was a bit bitter at the way she would come and go without any notice. He knew she had given up everything, -her family, her position, Soi Fong- for him and Tessai but Kisuke had spent the last century in fear, never knowing truly where she was or if she was in trouble. He worried himself sick to the point where he had become numb to it.

(Kisuke -Kakashi- was tired of losing his precious people and he hoarded them like a dragon hoarded its treasure.) 

The first time she had vanished, Kisuke spent the entire time in terror, scheming plan after plan, each scenario growing worse. Tessai had to force drastic measures and by the time Kisuke woke again, Yoruichi had _finally_ returned --three months, fourteen days, seven hours, forty three minutes later--. She had been apologetic for once. Learning she had gone on essentially a party binge was salt to the wound. 

She had gotten better with it over the years, calling to check in every few days, leaving notes saying she was gone, bringing back gifts when she returned. But Kisuke never knew when she would coming back or how she would be staying. 

(He had no desire, truly, to lock up his precious people. He just got twitchy when he didn't know where they were, how they were doing. Tessai thankfully stuck close but Shinji and the others had disappeared into the wind, constantly going and Yoruichi's nature couldn't keep her contained to one place.)

(He learned to cope with it.)

(It didn't mean he liked it though.)

"Kisuke!" Yoruichi snapped again. 

Kisuke helplessly shrugged. Years ago he would have caved and gave her an apology, an excuse, but Kaien, _Shisui,_ was pack and Wolf was always a little aggressive regarding that. 

"Since everyone seems to be aware of him except for me," Ishida said, "who are you?" 

"Shiba Kaien," Kaien said brightly. 

"Are you two related?" Ishida asked Ichigo with a touch of despair. 

Ichigo shrugged. "Somehow. Goat-Face still hasn't explained and all Kaien says is that we're cousins." His eyes narrowed. "A cousin who happens to know about Hollows and Shinigamis. Are you a Shinigami, Kaien?" 

"Yup," Kaien answered with a grin.

Kisuke resisted the urge to hit his face against the wall. 

Ichigo wasn't done, his scowl growing deeper. "Mom mentioned a brother once, for all that we haven't met him." 

Kisuke was going to end up killing Ryuuken at this rate. He made a mental note to somehow break it to both Ishida and Ichigo about their blood ties, no matter how uncomfortable that conversation would be. 

(Kakashi kept the truth from Naruto for years. Both because of Sandaime's orders and because of his own cowardness. Naruto was too forgiving for all the secrets Kakashi kept, didn't even _ask_. The brief moments Naruto had with Minato during the war had been enough, but it shouldn't have been.)

(Kisuke would not keep blood ties, would not keep _family_ away from family.)

(In fact, he was getting ready to spill all his secrets because Aizen be damned or not, he was coming to the uncomfortable realization that he was gearing up to send children, _his students_, off to fight a war that was not theirs. _**Without him.**_)

(Sometimes Kakashi's loyalty scared Kisuke to his core.)

(Sometimes Kisuke believed that Kakashi's unflinching and unwavering loyalty was the only thing keeping him from going off the moral horizon.)

"But you and dad have mentioned that it's between you two that the blood tie is shared," Ichigo continued on. "Does that mean Goat-Face is a Shinigami too?" 

Damage control, now. Kisuke opened his mouth but Kaien cut him off. 

"Yup," Kaien said. 

Kisuke was going to strangle Kaien. 

"Why was that never mentioned?" Ichigo asked frostily. His reiatsu started to grow, the pressuring starting to press down.

"Isshin-ji is your father," Kaien said. "It was his request that you kept away from the world of Shinigami and Hollows. Out of respect, I allowed it." 

"Kaien," Kisuke murmured with a tint of reproach. 

(Kisuke might be willing to confess his secrets but this was hardly the time or place.) 

"I think it is time he knew," Kaien said with a helpless shrug. "After all, he is here learning about his Shinigami powers." 

Point. 

"Clan history can wait for later though," Kaien said. 

"I'm going to hold you to that," Ichigo said coldly. His expression then morphed to one of apprehension. "Rukia mentioned a Shiba Kaien, who looked exactly like me but with dark hair. I didn't know how to bring you up and you hadn't returned from wherever you went for three months at that point." 

Kaien hummed. "Yeah there is a story behind that. It's a shame I missed my chance to talk to her. She wasn't blaming herself, was she?" 

"She was absolutely blaming herself," Ichigo said. 

"I'll have to fix that," Kaien said with a sigh. "It wasn't her fault." 

“Kukaku and Ganju were beside themselves with grief,” Yoruichi snapped. 

“And my sister will punch me in the face,” Kaien said mildly. “But I had my reasons for not going back to Soul Society.” 

Kisuke mentally sighed. This was spiraling out of control. 

Chad held up a hand, interrupting. “Should we continue training why you three work out whatever the issue is?” 

Kaien shook his head. “Nah, Yoruichi can yell me at later when you kids are too tired to move.” 

The kids shared a look. 

“Not if we take you down first,” Ichigo said. 

“Big words, cousin!” Kaien said. “Let’s see your teamwork in action.”

The training ground exploded. 

Kisuke sighed. How terrifying. 

“Kisuke,” Yoruichi said. She looked at him with solemn eyes, her teasing nature hidden away.

“I wasn’t purposefully keeping the fact that Kaien was alive from you,” Kisuke said quietly. Something like guilt squirmed in his heart. It wasn’t like Yoruichi and Kaien were any closer friends than Kisuke and Kaien were. But Yoruichi was close friends with Kukaku. 

“It was touch and go for awhile,” Kisuke continued. 

“And by the time he was stable?” Yoruichi asked, voice emotionally flat. 

“You were gone,” Kisuke said. “And then he went traveling for a bit to get acquainted with the human world and reestablish his grip on his powers.”

But unlike everyone else in Kisuke’s life who had walked away, Kaien called the Shoten practically every night and always updated Kisuke on his general whereabouts.

(Kakashi was so clingy. And paranoid. Thankfully, Kaien understood that.) 

“Then Isshin arrived, got married, Ichigo was born and Kaien planted himself here to watch over Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu growing up,” Kisuke continued. 

Yoruichi flinched. “And if I had come back here at any point in the last fifteen years I would have ran into him,” she said, her expression twisting into guilt. “Kisuke…” 

“I never want to chain you here,” Kisuke interrupted. “It’s not your nature to remain stationary.” 

This particular habit of his had never surfaced back when they had been in Soul Society. Kisuke had been content knowing she was safe behind the white walls and always knew for the most part when she had been out on missions. 

But the human world was large and Yoruichi was capable of slipping back into Soul Society, where they were still wanted for treason. 

(Perhaps he was more bitter than he thought.) 

Yoruichi frowned. 

Kisuke could only give her a hapless grin. There would be time later to hash out their issues. Right now it was more important to keep training the kids. 

(Coward. Even in this lifetime, Kisuke was still running from emotional conversations.) 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi vs emotional conversations always ends with Kakashi running away. And that carries on as Kisuke. Also I swear we'll eventually get around to saving Rukia.... Eventually. >> *cough* Gotta fix Kisuke and Yoruichi's friendship first. 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out :D


	10. Chapter 10

If she had been in her cat form, Yoruichi’s tail would have been trashing against the ground.

She gave up remaining in her cat form after the third day. She could hit harder, push the kids harder in her human form.

And those little monsters thrived off of everything that Kisuke, Tessai, Kaien and her threw at them.

Frankly she couldn’t believe it and had asked Kisuke repeatedly at this point if he was really sure that those five kids were actually human. Ichigo could be handwaved away with Isshin as his parent. His monstrous reiatsu levels were inherited. Even Ishida could be explained by his Quincy heritage. But the other three? Chad and Orihime’s defensive abilities were blocking Kido spells in the high seventies. Offensively, Chad was shattering mountains with his fists and there was something about Orihime’s power that sent shivers down Yoruichi’s spine. Tatsuki was firing Kido spells up into the high _eighties_ with the _proficiency of a senior seated officer_. And she could cause the same destructive power as Chad could with her bare fists.

That was nothing on Ishida who went from firing one arrow at a time to rapid firing five in ten seconds or Ichigo who could probably best all but the most experienced fukutaichos with ease. Yoruichi could practically sense that Ichigo on the verge of learning _Bankai._

It had been _ten days_.

What do they feed the kids in this town?

These kids were like sponges. They already absorbed six years worth of material from Academy, blew past what any new recruit was capable of and landed somewhere in the top five seats.

There were geniuses like Kaien, like Kisuke and then there were monsters.

These kids were terrifying.

Then there was Kaien and the fact that she didn't _know_ that he was still alive. That Kisuke never said a word.

(Once upon a time they never kept secrets from each other.)

Some of the blame laid with her. Being exiled was one of the worst things that could have happened to her. Oh she didn't regret saving Kisuke, Tessai and the others. But being here in the human world was just so boring. Even if she hated paperwork, there was always work to be done, people to drink with, trainees to torture. Here, the only opponents she could face were Kisuke and Tessai both, while extremely strong and challenging, she knew them and their styles like the back of her hand.

Or at least she thought she knew when it came to Kisuke.

Admittedly, she had screwed up. She snapped with boredom and left without even thinking about the consequences. By the time she had sobered up and returned, Tessai had reamed her out for disappearing without a word and told her that he had forcibly knock out Kisuke and keep him in a coma because Kisuke had been so worried about her he hadn’t been sleeping.

Even with her apology, the chasm between them seemed to grow wider.

No, the chasm started when she forced Kisuke to become the Twelfth Division Captain. But she stood by that decision. It didn’t matter that Kisuke had skill set. It didn’t matter that Kisuke was the best operative she had. What did matter was that deep down inside Kisuke had a kind heart. She had no desire to see that completely snuff out. He was supposed to become Captain because it was relatively safe, if a bit boring, and free to do whatever experiments he wanted to pursue.

“Alright spill,” Yoruichi said.

It was late. The kids had managed dinner and shower before crashing in one of the spare bedrooms.

(The realization that none of them were going home was both humbling and troubling. It spoke of their determination to rescue Rukia. But… didn’t they have parents that were worried about them?)

Tessai had retired as well, leaving only Kisuke, Kaien and herself awake.

Kaien shrugged. “I was stupid and got myself killed. Half killed?” he mused. “How many seals did you slap on me?” he asked Kisuke.

Kisuke remained stubbornly silent.

Kaien poked him. “I know I have a seal somewhere on me that tells you when I’m in danger. That’s the only way you could have known I had done something stupid.”

“You always do something stupid,” Kisuke muttered.

“If you haven’t added a location one, you can, you know,” Kaien said.

Yoruichi watched as subtle way Kisuke froze for just a fraction. Something like relief reflected in Kisuke’s eyes. She had no idea why it was so important to him to know where Kaien was and his relative health and why Kaien was so willing to even offer it.

“Location seal? What kind of seal are you talking about?” Yoruichi asked.

“It was an old project,” Kisuke said. “The seal only alerts me if the person’s health passes certain thresholds. The idea was to give me an early enough warning to come running with help if that was the case. Kaien has one. Tessai too. There’s one on you.” He didn’t look at her in the eye.

That was…

Where was this behavior coming from? It wasn’t new. It couldn’t be if there was on Kaien. The seal had to be in place before they had been exiled.

“The location one is just a step up and lets me know where you are,” Kisuke said.

Yoruichi tilted her head, trying to puzzle it out. “Why is this so important to you?” she asked. “You weren’t like this before our exile, but you must have been thinking about it if Kaien has a seal.”

She couldn’t even pinpoint when the two of them had become that close as friends.

Kisuke shrugged. “It was enough back then to know that you were safe in Soul Society and as your second in command, I knew, majority of the time what missions you were sent on, which weren’t many. I gave it a much more serious consideration once I became captain and didn’t necessarily see you every day.”

“The location seal hasn’t been placed on anyone,” Kisuke said, tired.

Because he respected them and their need for privacy. Yoruichi sucked in a harsh breath as the pieces began to fall together. She was always wandering and knew that Kisuke didn’t like that he didn’t know where she was despite how often she would check back in or told him of her plans. Though he never mentioned it, it was probably driving Kisuke up the wall that Shinji and the others hadn’t returned to visit either. She was their main point of contact.

No wonder Kisuke looked at Kaien with such relief. Kaien was more than willing to accept the invasion of piracy, if it settled Kisuke’s paranoia. It spoke of the trust and respect Kaien had in Kisuke.

“Why?” she asked again.

“No one gets left behind,” Kaien said.

Kisuke’s lips twitched into a fond smile. “Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.”

Yoruichi stared at him. “When did you start believing that?”

He gave her a cryptic look. “I always have.”

Another piece of the puzzle snapped into place. When they were Onmitsukidō, Kisuke usually took missions with her as her Second in Command or solo missions. But every so often, he would take squad missions and… everyone came back _alive_. It didn’t matter how dangerous the mission was or if one or two were half dead. Anyone who went out with Kisuke came back alive.

Still, there was something missing.

Kisuke said those words like they were a lifetime held belief. It was a driving force in his motivations. A motivation she didn’t know about. A motivation that Kaien did.

That stung.

When had Kaien become an expert on Kisuke?

When. Time was the question here, wasn’t it? She knew Kisuke’s personal history; they had been joined at the hip since childhood. While they hadn’t spent every waking moment together, it was hard to imagine she would miss something so formulative, so core to Kisuke.

Unless…

“Do you remember your previous life, Kisuke?” Yoruichi asked.

This time he looked her in the eye, the brim of his hat lifting so she could see the honesty written on his face. “Yes,” he said softly.

“When did your memories come back?” Yoruichi asked, feeling off kilter. You weren’t supposed to remember your past life.

“I always had my previous memories,” Kisuke said.

That felt like a punch to the gut.

Kisuke didn’t tell her, didn’t tell Tessai, but told Kaien?

“You’re the first person I’ve told,” Kisuke said, as if sensing her thoughts.

“I don’t count,” Kaien said.

Yoruichi reflexively bared her teeth at Kaien.

He didn’t bat an eyelash. “I don’t count because I remember who Kisuke was in his previous life.”

She felt her jaw drop. Two reincarnations? “You both remember? And you both knew each other previously? What are the odds for that?” This was impossible.

“Higher than you think,” Kisuke said dryly.

“What do you mean?”

“There's Ichigo and his friends,” Kisuke said.

_What._

“They don’t remember,” Kaien said. “Well, I know Ichigo and Tatsuki don’t. Pretty sure Uryuu doesn’t either. If Chad does, I don’t recognize him and he doesn’t recognize me. I don’t know about Orihime.”

Kisuke rubbed his forehead. “You and Chad never met in the previous life. He’s one of Ichigo’s friends. You met Orihime, but don’t push it.”

Kaien frowned. “Is-”

“Leave it. If she’s who I think she is, it will be kinder that she never ever remembers who she was previously,” Kisuke said.

“You can make people remember?” Yoruichi asked, startled by the implications.

By the Spirit King, this was sounding even more crazier with each passing second.

“No,” Kisuke said. “There’s no evidence of that, but there is evidence of echoes.”

“What does that mean?” Yoruichi asked, grappling with these concepts.

“Everyone is a reincarnation,” Kisuke explained. “It’s just a matter of how much one remembers. Even though most forget, there are things that never really fade. Tatsuki’s verbal tic of ‘Shannarō’ is one instance.

“When you’re around people who knew you in your previous life, whether you remember or not, there are things that resurface. Ichigo, Tatsuki and Ishida used to be a team. A team that lived through a war, guarding each other’s backs that grew into a partnership with a level of understanding similar to that of Ukitake and Kyouraku. That’s how close they used to be.

“Now in this lifetime, even though the three of them don’t remember, they’re still harmonized together. It’s enough that even subconsciously, all that battle experience, all that trust, it’s bleeding through.”

Yoruichi stared at him, stunned beyond words.

“Is that why they’re fighting like seasoned officers?” she demanded.

There was an explanation for why these kids were terrifying?!

Kisuke gave her an amused look, chuckling lightly. “Yes. Chad and Ichigo, in their previous life were close friends, practically brothers. Even though Chad wasn’t apart of the same team, he was powerful in his own right. Orihime was an unappreciated battle _genius_.”

“For those five, the instincts and experience is there. They just need the skills to put it to use.”

“I need sake,” Yoruichi said. Her head was spinning.

Kisuke wordlessly handed her a bottle.

She took a swing, letting the sake burn in her throat.

All of this made a frighteningly amount of sense.

“How did you two know Ichigo and his friends?” she asked.

Kaien lit up, full on beaming. “They were Kisuke’s kids!”

“You reproduced?!” Yoruichi yelped. She tried to imagine Kisuke as a father.

Kisuke whacked Kaien with his fan. “Stop giving her strange ideas! No, I did not. I was Ichigo, Tatsuki and Ishida’s teacher.”

“They’re pack,” Kaien said. “I do know how your mind works, Wolf.”

Pack? Wolf? Had Kisuke been an animal last life?

Kisuke glared at him.

“Uryuu and I were cousins last lifetime,” Kaien said. “And I watched Ichigo a couple times. Unfortunately, I died pretty young so I never got to see Team 7 in action which is just blasphemy.”

“You didn’t miss much,” Kisuke said.

“They gave you kids!” Kaien said. “**_You!_** And the cherry on top, they were Team 7!”

“Am I supposed to understand this?” Yoruichi asked, desperately.

“Most people thought the moniker of Team 7 was cursed,” Kisuke said. “Every incarnation of Team 7 was met with some sort of tragedy.”

“And yet you managed to keep them together and they went onto beating up an alien rabbit moon goddess to save the world!”

“I didn’t even keep- never mind. I don’t know why I told you anything about what happened after you died. Don’t pay any attention to him, Yoruichi.”

Later she was going to need the full story. Because that sounded like a riot. It also sounded like she would need a lot of sake for it too.

(An alien rabbit moon goddess? Seriously?)

Kisuke gave her a quiet look. She easily read the concern on his face. Perhaps bridging that chasm wouldn’t be so difficult.

“Am I one too?” she asked. “Someone you used to know from this previous lifetime and I just don’t remember?”

Kisuke grew quiet for a few seconds. “I don’t know,” Kisuke said. “I had a couple suspicions but you haven’t made it obvious one way or another. Either my presence isn’t enough to trigger anything or you really scrubbed your soul clean of your memories.”

Ah.

That was a little disappointing.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself. There was no point falling apart over something she couldn’t change.

“Alright so where do we go from here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Addressing the elephant in the room, lol. Plot progress \o/
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. :D


	11. Chapter 11

_“Alright so where do we go from here?” _

Kisuke hummed. “The Senkaimon will be complete in another day or two. Kaien has found out that Rukia’s execution is scheduled two weeks from today.”

“The sooner we can go, the better chance we have of getting her out of there,” Yoruichi said. “I don’t care how strong these kids get. Sending them against all of Soul Society is a death wish. Ten days is not long enough.”

“Why not take advantage of the Dangai?” Kaien asked. “Trust me when I say that an extra couple months will do these kids wonders. As long as we enter the Dangai on a day where Kototsu isn’t active, we can slow down time until it’s time for the Kototsu to appear, exit and reenter.”

“The Kototsu appears every seven days in there,” Yoruichi said.

Kaien grinned. “The Kototsu is tied to every seven days of real world time. That means you can easily spend up to six real world days in Dangai, the equivalent of 12000 days. That’s too taxing for the kids. But we can easily dump them into Dangai for two hours here, which is just about six months, jump out and recover our reiatsu and then head Soul Society, completely fresh.”

Yoruichi’s jaw dropped. “But-” She whirled to face Kisuke. “Is that true?”

“Yes. We know that the Kototsu appears every seven days. We know that the Dangai is a time compression by a factor of 2000. If the Kototsu was tied to the Dangai’s time flow, that meant for every five minutes of real world time, the Kototsu should appear,” Kisuke said.

“Travel between the Soul Society and the Human World takes anywhere from five to ten minutes of real world time. We know that because Soul Society has timed it in multiple separate cases. It’s a given fact,” Kaien said. “That means unless they’re as fast as you, every person who takes Dangai, which is every Shinigami without their own Jigokuchō would encounter the Kototsu every time they enter the Dangai.”

“And we know that isn’t the case,” Yoruichi said, stunned. “Why has no one else made that connection?”

“Who knows?” Kaien said. “Sometimes people are blinded to the obvious solution.”

"Okay, so the kids get anywhere from six months to another year of training via the Dangai," Yoruichi said. "Which of us is going to be the one feeding the required reiatsu?"

"My vote is Isshin-ji," Kaien said. "His powers are slowly recovering, but they are there."

"Use him as a battery pack, so harsh," Kisuke remarked.

Kaien gave him a flat unimpressed stare. "The kids have been here for ten days. I asked Ichigo. Isshin-ji has yet to show up. Ryuuken too. And unlike Tatsuki's parents who are blissfully unaware and trust their daughter, those two aren't in the dark."

"Yes, well-"

"Not to mention you still went ahead with the plan to put the Hogyoku in Rukia, which I'm going to punch you for and you better apologize to her once we rescue her," Kaien continued.

Kisuke deflated.

"This is why it isn't good to let you scheme and plan when you're worried. You come up with suicidal runs, Wolf."

"I do not-"

"The mission to Iwagakure regarding the Kimura Hunt," Kaien said.

Kisuke blanched. "You can't-"

"No one gets left behind includes you too," Kaien said.

He looked at Yoruichi. "Please help me keep him in line."

Yoruichi smirked. "Good idea."

Kisuke deflated even more.

"I'll drag Isshin-ji here the morning the Senkaimon is ready," Kaien said, beaming.

Kisuke sighed. “Very well.”

-.-.-

_‘I would be a terrible father.’ _

Those words would ring in the back of Isshin’s head. He had no idea where it had come from, but he felt the truth in those words deep in his soul. It rang with such conviction and left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Isshin wished he could change it. He loved the concept of family. He always wanted to get married and have kids. Misaki was the light of his life and no matter the strange circumstances or how short of a time they had together, he loved her, cherished her. His beautiful princess.

When Misaki became pregnant, a terror swept through him. He was so convinced that he would be a terrible father.

He would often sit next to her in bed, soaking up her image in the moonlight, resting a gentle hand against her round stomach.

(He had seven children. He loved them all and failed them all.)

(One was so independent, he had little hand in raising him. The greatest of them all and he failed to protect him.)

(Two died on him and he swore no others after. It was a lie.)

(Three he abandoned on good intentions; their destiny laid away from him. Or so he believed. They hated him and the blood he offered in exchange was too little to quench their thirst.)

(The last he couldn’t even look at and abandoned him on the day of his birth.)

Isshin tried so hard. He loved Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu. The only reason why he could continue on after Misaki’s death was because of his children.

And yet he was still failing as a father.

Karin and Yuzu were easier. He always had better luck with women.

Ichigo… Ichigo was harder.

His sullen son would scowl so fiercely. Isshin tried. Tried to prepare him for the horrors of Aizen, tried to teach him to defend himself so he would be ready when war came knocking. He said nothing as Ichigo continued to sneak out, said nothing as Rukia charmed her way into living in the Kurosaki Household, continued to play the ignorant fool even though he knew where exactly Ichigo had been spending the last twelve days at.

“Yo, Isshin-ji. Are you going to wake up?”

Isshin snapped awake. Twenty years wasn’t enough to erase his reflexes.

He recognized his surroundings as Kisuke’s underground training grounds. A chill shot down his spine as he recognized Ichigo scowling down at him, dressed in a Shihakushō.

(For a brief moment, Ichigo’s hair and eyes flashed yellow and blue and a deep well of shame slammed into him.)

“About time, Goat-Face,” Ichigo said. “Kaien got you like an hour ago.”

Er. What? Isshin looked at his nephew who gave him a cheery wave.

“He also mentioned you use to be a Shinigami,” Ichigo said, scowl growing even deeper.

Isshin felt his heart drop. “Kaien!”

Kaien shrugged. “He deserves to know. He’s risking his life here. There’s no protecting him anymore. You should have told him the moment he became a Shinigami.”

Isshin felt his mouth go dry, that bitter sour taste reappearing his mouth. “Ichigo--”

“Nope. Don’t wanna hear your excuses,” Ichigo said. “You tell me the truth when you’re ready.”

Isshin blinked. “What-?”

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “I’m going to rescue Rukia. There really isn’t time to listen to whatever reasons you had for keeping this from me. So tell me when I get back.”

Hah. So confident. When did his son grow up to be such a fine young man?

Wait.

“Then why did you bring me here?” Isshin asked.

Ichigo and Kaien both smirked. (Honestly, it was so chilling how similar those two looked.) Yoruichi looked like the cat got the cream and Kisuke flipped open his fan to hide his expression.

“We’re using you as a battery,” Kaien said.

“Thanks Goat-Face. Knew you had to be useful for something,” Ichigo said.

What?!

-Later-

“MISAKI OUR SON HAS GROWN UP TO BE A FINE YOUNG MAN!!!”

“Shut up! Why the hell do you have to be such an embarrassment, Goat-Face!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isshin tries. Poor guy. Doesn't excuse him, but he tries. (And that's honestly more than most anime parents can say.) Also, worldbuilding in Bleach continues to be BS (*whispers* Shinigami have vents at their wrists). 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	12. Chapter 12

“Kurosaki-kun.”

Ichigo huffed. “Ichigo is just fine, Getaboshi,” he said. 

Kisuke smiled, half amused. 

“Getaboshi?” Ichigo asked. His scowl dropped and something like concern was written on his face. 

So perspective. Kisuke swallowed his nerves. They were running out of time. Ichigo and his friends passed their training easily. Would it be enough? That remain to be seen, but Kisuke was confident in their abilities. However the date for their leaving was just four days away and Kisuke still hadn’t told Ichigo anything. 

Kaien was getting twitchy and Kisuke needed to be one to tell Ichigo on his own terms.

(He was tired of failing.)

(But still he feared the disappointment that would eventually reflect in Ichigo’s eyes.)

(Naruto despite his friendliness was slow to trust and Sasuke never understood the magnitude of Naruto’s trust, despite being the least deserving of it.)

(Ichigo was no different.)

(Kisuke hated the fact that if Ichigo wasn’t Naruto, he wouldn’t even be considering this.) 

“Do I need to get Tessai up here?” Ichigo asked, a mix wariness and concern creeping into his tone. “Or Yoruichi?” 

“No,” Kisuke said. “There is something I must tell you.”

“If--”

“Do not let me get away with this, Ichigo.” 

Ichigo looked at him with wide eyes before a look of grim determination replaced it. “Okay,” he said. “What is it?”

Kisuke took a deep breath. ‘Just think,’ he told himself over and over, ‘good information makes or breaks a mission. We don’t want a repeat of the Wave Mission.’ 

Kisuke let the words fall, spilling in detail all the information he had about Aizen, about his exile, about his plan with Hogyoku, about Soul Society. Some information, like the current abilities of the Captains and Lieutenants, Kaien and Yoruichi would have told him. Others Ichigo had probably pieced together. But Kisuke hoarded secrets and he painted for Ichigo in clear detail what exactly Ichigo and his friends were up against and the mistakes that Kisuke made that lead them to now. 

Ichigo listened. His expression shuttered shut halfway through. 

“Any questions?” Kisuke ended on a cheerful note at the end. His fan flipped open, hiding his expression.. (He missed his mask. He really did.) 

Ichigo sighed, burying his head in one of his hands. “You’re an _idiot_, Kakashi-sensei.” 

Kisuke froze. 

That was the last thing he expected out of Ichigo’s mouth.

Could it-?

“Do you remember?” Kisuke blurted out, unable to stop the question. 

Ichigo huffed. “Sorta. However Kurama does.”

“Is Kurama…. Kurama?” Kisuke asked. He had been under the impression that Ichigo’s Zanpakuto had been shaped due Naruto’s previous role in life, not because the Bijuu had followed Naruto into the next life. 

“The old fox?” Ichigo asked. “Yeah.” 

The space next to Ichigo twisted and suddenly Kisuke was looking at an invert black and white copy of Ichigo. “Cyclops,” he greeted. 

“You can manifest him,” Kisuke said faintly. The only thing more surprising was that Kurama had not taken the form of a nine tailed fox. 

“Not that much different that Kage Bunshin,” Ichigo said. 

He crossed his arms. “Who do I have to yell at for not stopping you? Goat-Face? Kaien? Yoruichi? Tessai?” 

Kisuke mentally grappled, fluxmoed by the whole turn of events. “There’s no one to yell at.” 

“You only come up with these kind of crazy schemes when it’s in the protection of someone or because people left you alone long enough to let you wallow in guilt,” Ichigo said. “This is like that time with that white haired bastard with stupid stealing Kekkai Genkai technique-”

“Hiruko,” Kurama helpfully added.

“_Him_,” Ichigo said. “If you still have any plans up your sleeve that involve self sacrificing yourself to kill Aizen, I want you to throw them out. That is _**not**_ acceptable.” 

“But--”

“Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash,” Ichigo said. 

“Ichigo-”

“We are not abandoning you and you’re not allowed to abandon us,” Ichigo said. 

Kisuke squashed the warm feeling bubbling in his chest, half wanting to scream in frustration. 

“You’re not going to win this,” Kurama said. “Konoha’s Number One Hyperactive, Knucklehead Ninja, remember?” 

Kisuke let loose a tired laugh. That was very true. 

“I am not hyperactive,” Ichigo protested. 

He reached out to grab Kisuke’s wrist and tugged at it. “C’mon Getaboshi. We’re going to grab food and everyone else and come up with a better plan.”

“Kurosaki-kun-”

Ichigo rolled his eyes. “Ichigo, Kakashi-sensei.” 

“Ichigo, the current plan we have for--” 

“Is unrealistic,” Ichigo finished. “Maybe we had enough stealth to get Rukia out but this asshole Aizen isn’t going to let her slip through his fingers. There won’t be an easy in or out. So we better aim for a full out attack.” 

Kisuke hadn’t even considered that Aizen was potentially aware of the fact that the Hogyoku was in Rukia. That was a terrible miscalculation on his part. He thought he had left behind such arrogance. 

“Ah,” he said because what else could he say?

“You’re a genius,” Ichigo said throwing a confidant smile at Kisuke that he truly didn’t deserve. “We’ll figure it out.”

-.-.- 

"I beg your pardon," Yoruichi said flatly. 

"I fully intend to go with you and Kaien to help Ichigo and his friends," Kisuke repeated. 

"You can't enter--," Yoruichi said, "What am I saying, you figured it out, of course, how to circumference your exile. That was how you manage to get Kaien, wasn't it?" 

Kisuke just smiled at her enigmatically. 

"Let me guess, Tessai will be remaining on this side, packing things up and setting up our new secondary safe house because even if we’re successful, we’re going to have create all new hiding places because the old man won’t let this go lying down,” Yoruichi said.

“Or we can just reveal Aizen is an asshole,” Ichigo said. 

“No one believed us a hundred years ago, they’re not going to when we’re a bunch of traitors,” Yoruichi said. “And even with Kisuke coming, we’re still three former Shinigami and five kids.” 

She drummed her fingers against the table. “How about calling the others? Ichigo is right. Our group is getting too big and all of us can’t really do a stealth mission. So crash the front gate. If the others are there, it’ll make an even bigger explosion. If we can kill Aizen in the confusion great, but I doubt it and the whole point is to get little Kuchiki out.” 

Kisuke gave her a tight smile. “If you can convince them to come, very well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #protectkisukefromdoingsomethingstupid squad picked up a new member. Ichigo firmly moves up to Stage 2. 
> 
> You know looking at Kisuke's plan for Ichigo's Soul Society invasion, hell just looking at the logic for putting the Hogyoku in Rukia was definitely not one of his best plans. Like, it make no sense. 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out :D


	13. Chapter 13

Shinji was not looking forward to being in Karakura Town. But Yoruichi had called and told him to collect the rest of the Visoreds and come. 

Given how serious she sounded, Shinji had no protest. The other Visoreds however complained, but he overruled them and dragged them all back with him. Yoruichi rarely got serious and when she did, it was a sign to pay attention. 

After eighty years away from Karakura Town, the town had certainly changed. Modernized, like the rest of the world. New apartments rising up, new buildings, new streets. Some things remained the same. The high density of reiatsu still lit up like a beacon, drawing in Hollows and spirits. 

It was hard to return.

After the first twenty years, after Kisuke’s twenty years of failure to cure them, none of them could stand to be in this town. In this town so similar and so different than Soul Society, with betrayal stabbing through their hearts and their Hollow screaming beneath their skin. Leaving was the only option. 

Shinji hadn’t liked it. 

(Rather he didn’t like the fact that he had the distinct impression that Kisuke was devastated despite the soft smile he sent them off on.) 

Learning to deal with their Hollow was the only way they were going to survive. So they isolated themselves from people and dealt with it the best they could. 

Admittedly, it wasn’t the best idea. The Hollow influenced all of their negative emotions and by the time they wrangled it under control, well, even Mashiro was a bit meaner and crueler. 

(Shinji even felt his wide grin fade on most days and that felt a little like losing a bit of himself.) 

“Why do we have to visit the shitty bastard?” Hiyori complained. 

“Yoruichi wouldn’t ask us to come if it wasn’t important,” Shinji said. “Deal with it.” 

He stepped through the threshold of the shoten and came face to face with an orange haired beauty. Kisuke hired part time help? Shinji grinned, catching her hand and pressing a kiss to it. 

“Hello beautiful. I never thought I would meet my first love at a shoten--”

“Leave Orihime-chan alone, Shinji.”

Shinji blinked as Kisuke came from behind lovely lady who was apparently called Orihime. That… almost sounded protective of Kisuke. Who was this Orihime?

Orihime let loose a nervous laugh. 

Before Shinji could do anything, Hiyori made a flying kick at Kisuke who sidestepped. 

“Maa, Hiyori-chan what kind of greeting that?” Kisuke said. 

“I can’t believe you hired a part-timer,” Love said. “Must have searched pretty hard for an acceptable one."

“Let’s just get this over with,” Lisa said coldly. “I rather not be here.”

Kisuke flipped opened his fan in a flippant manner, shielding his expression, but what caught Shinji’s eye was how Orihime frowned. 

“Are they the ones here to help, Urahara-san?” Orihime asked.

“If they agree,” Kisuke said. 

That… was such a straightforward answer from him. Who was this girl? 

“Help with what?” Lisa asked, frostedly.

“Yoruichi said she needed help!” Mashiro agreed. 

“She’s downstairs in the training room,” Kisuke said. “You can discuss it with her.” 

“Typical,” Hiyori said with a scoff. “You’re always hiding behind her.”

No. That wasn’t right. Shinji mentally frowned. It wasn’t Kisuke’s idea to call them? And oddly, Orihime’s frown was growing deeper as she looked between them and Kisuke. 

Kisuke nonchalantly shrugged and headed for the ladder down to the training room without a word. 

“He’s acting strange,” Kensai said. 

“He always acts strange,” Rose said. 

“Who are you people?” Orihime asked. 

“None of your business,” Love said. “Just go mind the storefront. Our business is with your boss, not you.” 

A chill shot down Shinji’s spine as Orihime’s eyes narrowed.

(He had been on the receiving end of that stare before. For a brief moment, her orange hair vanished, replaced with black and crimson reflected in her eyes. Where had Shinji seen that grim determination, that _power_ before?) 

She defiantly looked them in the eye as she marched towards the ladder, vanishing the same way Kisuke did. 

“Guess she does have a backbone,” Love said. “What was Kisuke thinking? She’s a normal human girl.” 

“You just opened a can of worms,” Shinji said. He didn’t know how but he got the distinct feeling that she was going to make them pay for their harsh attitudes. 

“Whatever,” Hiyori said. “Let’s just get this over with.” 

Shinji’s instincts screamed at him the second his feet touched the training ground floor. Barriers that rivaled Hachi and Tessai’s snapped up in place, glowing a bright yellow. 

“El Directo!”

“Hiyru Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!” 

“Kensai! Bankai now!” Shinji shouted. “Break through the walls!” 

A gust of wind exploded outward from Kensai, shattering the barriers keeping them trapped. They went scattering, just barely dodging the two high powered attacked. Shinji didn’t recognize the first one, but the second was an attack that only captains could perform. What kind of game was Kisuke playing at? 

“What is going on-” Hiyori’s words were cut off as all Shinji saw a flash of orange hair and a fist being driven into Hiyori’s stomach knocking her out. The flash vanished, skipping across the training ground and in a blink of an eye Hachi, Lisa and Mashiro all fell over. 

“Shannarō!!!” 

Shinji caught the sight of a black haired girl sending Love flying straight at Orihime(?!?!) who executed a flawless roundhouse kick, slamming Love straight into the solid rock pillar next to her. She followed up by pushing off the ground to deliver a punch straight as Love’s chin, driving the former captain into a small crater. 

Shinji clicked his tongue ready to go help Love when Rose’s startled cry stopped him. He whirled around, catching sight of what Rose was yelling about. 

Two kids were driving Kensai into the ground. 

Kensai who was in Bankai. 

Another orange haired kid with an _unsealed_ Zanpakuto matched Kensai’s blows with ease. The second one-

“Kensai! ABOVE!” Shinji warned. 

It was too late. The second kid with his arms covered in a strange red coating delivered a devastating blow to Kensai. 

“La Muerte!” 

Kensai fell. 

Shinji felt like he sucked on a sour lemon. Shunpo as fast as Yoruichi’s. Enough power to level city blocks. Someone was capable casting captain level kido spells. Kido barriers as strong as Hachi and Tessai’s. At least one Zanpakuto that hadn’t been released to Shikai state. These four kids took down two captain class fighters, one of which was in Bankai. 

He reached for his Hollow power, ready to summon his mask when--

“If you move, my traps will shred you to pieces.”

Shinji felt a bead of sweat roll down his face as he realized a _fifth_ kid had been standing behind him this entire time. 

“WHAT IS GOING ON?!” Rose shouted. “Who are you?!” 

“I suppose any concerns I had about the kids being able to take on captain class fighters is mostly unfound,” Yoruichi said, appearing out of nowhere. “Disarm your traps, Uryuu.” 

"Hn." The fifth kid, Uryuu apparently, scoffed but flicked his wrist. 

“What is going on, Yoruichi?” Shinji asked. “Who are these kids?!” 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tessai congratulate the two girls while Kisuke was over by the two boys. 

“The kids didn’t appreciate how you were treating Kisuke,” Kaien chirped. 

Shinji stared at him. “Shiba Kaien?! We were told you were dead!” 

Yoruichi grimaced. “That is my fault.”

Kaien gave her a funny look. “It really isn’t. Well it partially is.”

Shinji was reeling, blanching. It wasn’t like Yoruichi to get information like that wrong. Lisa was going to flip her lid. She took Kaien’s death, her best friend’s death, hard. 

“Do we really need them?” Uryuu asked. 

“Yes,” Yoruichi said. 

“_Yoruichi_,” Shinji said. The last time Shinji felt this off balanced, Aizen had pulled his ploy that Hollowified the rest of Visored. 

“I’ll explain,” Yoruichi said. “But you’re telling the others when they wake because I’ve covered this far too many times.” 

“Fine,” Shinji said. He wanted to know who these kids were and why Kisuke was acting so weirdly. Even the story about Shiba Kaien and why he was here in the real world instead of back at Soul Society.

What the hell happened after they left eighty years ago? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> curbstompingggg >:3c
> 
> Happy Holidays
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	14. Chapter 14

Lisa woke, head spinning. What hit her? All she remembered was a flash of orange and a fist being driven into a stomach so hard, she felt like she was back on the first day of her Hakuda classes. Then she remembered where they were and why, she immediately was on guard, looking around. 

And there sat Shinji with Rose, Yoruichi and Urahara, laughing without care. 

"What is going on?!" Lisa shouted. 

"Easy there, Lisa."

Her head snapped left, finding someone she thought was long dead. "Kaien?" she whispered. "Impossible. We were told you were dead." 

Her anger redirected. "Yoruichi!!!" Why had she lied? 

"Easy," Kaien repeated. And it was just like old times. Lisa yelling at Kyouka, Kaien trying to calm her down while Ukitake laughed cheerfully in the background. 

"As far as everyone was concerned, they were not wrong for thinking I was dead. Yoruichi didn't know either until a few weeks ago," Kaien said. 

Lisa stared at him flabbergasted. Yoruichi didn’t know? That almost sounded like something out of a world where the sun was green. The Shihouin Princess dealt with information. 

“How?” she asked, voice ragged. 

“Taichou got me out, like always,” Kaien said. 

“Ukitake-Taichou?” Lisa asked. That made some sense. That man adored Kaien like a son. 

Kaien hesitated just a fraction. If she had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have caught it. It was a subtle and small gesture, one of his few tells. “No, Kisuke,” he said.

Lisa felt as if she were dunked into icy cold water. Kisuke? There was much to unpack in that single word. When did Urahara become Kisuke to Kaien? And Taichou? That… made no sense. 

“Did you hit your head?” Lisa asked. 

Something twisted on Kaien’s face, an expression that flashed too fast before she could decipher it. “No,” he said. 

“When did you become close friends with Urahara?!” 

“From a certain point of view, we always have been,” Kaien said slowly. “I loved Ukitake-Taichou but after what went down, I know exactly where my loyalty lie.”

It felt like a betrayal to hear something like that come from Kaien’s mouth. Kaien was her best friend first. Kaien… was saying…

(This is a war and she will never ever forgive.) 

(Never forgive.)

“Why didn’t you come and say you were alive?” Lisa demanded. She mourned him for decades. And all this time, he had been alive? And on this side? 

Kaien’s eyes flashed cold. “Why didn’t you come visit?” he challenged in return. “I spent nearly two decades in recovery here in Karakura. Spent a few years on the road before coming back to settle here once Isshin arrived. I’ve spent nearly forty years in Karakura. Why haven’t you returned?”

“We didn’t know!” Lisa shouted back. Her heart pounded like a rapid hammer to a drum, unrelentingly and deafening. 

She whirled, facing Urahara. “You had to have known. This is your domain. Why didn’t you call?”

Urahara stared at her, hiding behind his fan.

(She hated that expression. Hated it. Such arrogance.)

(It was war.)

(It was war and she will never ever forgive.)

“I did,” Urahara said calmly. “Three times in fact.” 

“We never-”

“The first time you answered and told me you didn’t want to hear from me,” Urahara said mildly. “I believe your exact words were “unless this is about a cure, I don’t want to hear it”.” 

Lisa flinched. 

“The second time Hiyori answered,” Urahara continued on. He lowered his fan just a bit to reveal his thin smile. “We all know how that usually goes.”

“Knew I should have requested for the transfer,” Kaien complained. 

“You were better off with Ukitake and you know it,” Urahara said mildly. 

What was Kaien saying?! He would have… he would have left Ukitake-taichou and transferred to be Uraraha’s fukutaichou?!

“The third time, I finally managed to get ahold of Shinji and a promise was made to visit,” Urahara said. “Ten years is a long time to get lost on the road of life. How unhip and uncool. You’re not supposed to be the one who is late.”

Shinji looked chastised. “It honestly slipped my mind.” 

Urahara waved his fan dismissively. “It’s fine.” 

He turned his attention back to her and Lisa could barely hold back the reflexively glare. 

“I tried and no one came. Since it was clear no one was interested in knowing, I figured it could wait until you decided to visit,” Urahara said. 

Lisa felt her anger explode. “You figured-?!”

“Lisa!” Kaien snapped. 

This time her anger would not be turned away. Inside of her, Haguro Tonbo trashed and howled with her anger. 

“Why him?” she asked. “Why his side?” Over her. Over Ukitake. Why Urahara of all people?

Kaien looked at her with an unreadable expression. Never before had the chasm between them been so wide. 

(Then he said those damnable words.)

“Because I like his Will of Fire,” Kaien said. 

Lisa reeled back as if struck. She couldn’t- she didn’t- Lisa whirled around her heel, storming out of the room. Tears bubbled as betrayal and anger ran through her core.

How could he? 

-.-.-

A bitter sour taste rested in Kaien’s mouth. He had no idea that Lisa would react like that. 

Their friendship was probably in shattered ruined pieces. 

“Why does she hate you so much?” Kaien asked, looking at Kisuke. 

If Lisa was a reincarnation, he didn’t recognize her. But clearly her dislike of Kisuke ran soul deep. 

“I don’t know,” Kisuke said. 

Kaien knew him well enough to know that those words were honest. If Lisa was a reincarnation too, Kisuke didn’t recognize her. 

And there was no way of knowing if it began with Hatake Kakashi and not the person Kakashi was before. Well, not unless Lisa was willing to say. And Kaien got the feeling she wouldn’t. 

“Lisa is always straightlaced when it comes to facts,” Shinji said. “But her feelings? That’s a complicated mess. I didn’t even know how much she hated you until after we arrived in the Real World.” 

“If she doesn’t want to help, then she doesn’t have to,” Yoruichi said. “Let’s hope the rest of them take the news better.” 

-.-.-

Lisa dreamed of blood and fire, of familiar earth and caves, of the taste of steel and tears. She dreamed of yellow and silver and a terror so deep. It was war. 

It was war.

It was war.

And she lost so many friends to that yellow flash demon and his silver haired minion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're not supposed to "get" who Lisa is so I'll tell you that she's just supposed to be a random Iwa Nin who fought in the 3rd Shinobi war, who fought against the Yellow Flash and his students and even centuries later plus a reincarnation, cannot shake the absolute fear and hate.
> 
> I couldn't find a good Naruto character that fit that requirement of "hating" Kakashi as passionately as one could. Obito is one but for obvious reasons could not be used. You would think for someone as infamous as Kakashi, he would have more enemies. But apparently, he doesn't or he's that good that he didn't leave enemies behind. So a random Iwa-nin it was. Haha. 
> 
> Also a causal reminder to please do not ask for a list and/or confirmation about who is who. I don't even have a master list nor am I keeping track of which ones should be pretty obvious to you guys (because I feel I'm fairly heavy handed imo) and if you haven't picked up the more subtle ones eh, it'll be a surprise for later. Guessing is half the fun after all. 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out :D

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a review on your way out :D

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [(defenestrate the) window of opportunity](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20484152) by [In_The_Gardens_of_Inspiration](https://archiveofourown.org/users/In_The_Gardens_of_Inspiration/pseuds/In_The_Gardens_of_Inspiration)


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